A Family Turned Upside Down
by admmeg
Summary: With Baby Abby on the way a family is turned upside down. Spanking of adults and minors, don't like, don't read. Tony 5, Kate 4, Tim 1 and Abby not born yet.
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs stood between his pissed off boss and his pissed off pregnant wife. "Killing each other isn't going to do anything. We need to calm down, Jen and I are supposed to be leaving in thirty minutes, we will leave now and come to this tomorrow with fresh eyes. Grab your bag Jen."

Jenn grabbed her bag and followed her husband to the elevator. Gibbs reached out and pulled her close to himself. "You okay Baby? I need you to calm down so that little Abby doesn't cook too much."

Jen leaned into her husband and sighed. "Can we pick up Tim and you can drop us off at home."

"Kate and Tony's concert is tonight." Gibbs said shocked, pulling slightly away from his wife.

"I know, but they will be fine if one of us goes and I'm tired. It's been a long day." Jen said, not wanting to fight with her husband.

"Okay, then why I don't drop you off and keep Timmy with me. I don't want Kate and Tony to see us at the school and think that we are both staying." Gibbs said, trying to understand this new side of his wife. He knew Abby's pregnancy had been hard on her, but something was a little off.

"Tim has been really clingy lately. It would be good for us to have some Mommy Timmy time; we won't get it much when Abby is here."

Gibbs nodded and opened the car door for his wife. It didn't take long for his thoughts to be consumed by the case. He pulled up in front of the preschool their children attended and stilled his wife's hand on her seatbelt. "Rest. I will grab him and be back."

It was a quick walk back to the one-year old classroom and watched his son toddle around the room. His Sandy brown hair bobbed around the room as he ran from one spot to another before stopping and observing. His son turned when something caught his eye and spotted his Dad in the window. Instantly Tim started crying and Gibbs entered the room. "Hey buddy," he whispered into his son's hair "I'm not leaving." He grabbed his son's jacket and walked to the car praying that his older two children didn't see him. He should have known after the day he had at work that luck was not on his side.

"Daddy!" Caitlin Gibbs Screamed. He turned to see his daughter break away from her teacher, who must have been bringing the kids in from outside.

Gibbs crouched down and swept up the four-year-old. "Hey Katie-Bug."

"Are you going to get a good seat Daddy?" Kate asked excitedly.

"I will do that when I get back Katie-Bug." He assured. "Front row."

"Where are you going with Timmy?" She asked, suddenly suspicious, a recent side of his daughter that Gibbs had noticed a lot recently.

"Mommy is very tired; baby Abby is making her tired and sick and she wants to go home and cuddle with Timmy and sleep." Gibbs tried to explain to his little girl, his only little girl for 2 more months.

"Then I want to go home with Mommy and Timmy, and I will take care of them. I will change Timmy and make it so Mommy can sleep." Tears formed in the little girls' eyes.

Gibbs could feel the judgement from the teacher who was hovering over them right now. "Kate, I've been looking forward to seeing you and T-Man in this Christmas concert forever now. I would be so sad to not see you up on that stage. Tony will need his sister there too, so he can be brave."

Kate started to cry. "Please let me go home with Mommy!" The little girl pleaded into his jacket, "I will be good. I'm sorry that I slammed my door on accident this morning, but I promise it was an accident Daddy! Mommy was mad, but I didn't do it on not accident…"

Gibbs fought hard to not correct his daughter's speech. "Katie-bug, I know it's hard, but we all need you to be brave. Your brother needs you and Mommy needs you and I need you to stay here and be brave."

Kate's teacher crouched down close to them, "I will take her Mr. Gibbs. Katie, let's go brush your hair up and put on that very pretty dress that Daddy dropped off this morning."

Gibbs watched something in Kate's eyes change. She nodded abruptly, a trait she had got from him. "Okay, I will be brave Daddy. For you and Mommy."

He kissed her nose and stood. "I will see you soon, bug."

"Yes, Daddy," Kate said sadly, being led off by her teacher.

"What took so long?" Jen asked waspishly as he buckled Tim into his car seat.

Gibbs ignored the tone, as he had for the last five months. "Kate saw me and started crying."

Jen sighed, "That girl's dramatics are going to drive us all into the grave."

Jethro bit his tongue. "Did you and Katie get into it about a door this morning?" He turned in his seat to look at his wife but saw her body stiffen in defense and turned to turn the car on.

"She slammed the door Jethro, when has that ever been allowed in our house?" Jen asked sharply.

"It isn't Jen. I'm not accusing you. It was just something she brought up, and it was my day to make breakfast, so I was downstairs." He gripped the wheel tighter and prayed for even tones for Tim's sake. "Was she angry about something? I noticed that you two didn't seem to be getting along at the table or on the car ride. Tony was going a mile a minute and we walked into an active case. I'm sorry I forgot to check in."

"Of course she was angry, I spanked her." Jenn said.

"You spanked her?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"She slammed the door Jethro and Tim was still asleep!" Jen snapped.

Gibbs pulled up into the driveway in front of their house. He quickly jumped out and gathered a humming Tim and his jacket from the back of his SUV. Gibbs set his son down in the living room, hung his jacket up by the door and turned to his wife. "I'm going to take the kids out to dinner. I will text you what they choose in case you and Tim want to join. Text me what you want to eat, if you don't want to." He turned to walk out the door.

"So, what, now you aren't talking to me?" Jen snapped. "Never leave angry, don't we try and live by that?"

He turned on his heel. "I have to get to our children's concert Jen; they will be looking for me."

"As far as I can remember we both spank our children, and it has NEVER been an issue." Jen said.

Gibbs frown deepened. "Someone in this house has been need a spanking and I'm not sure it was Kate, Jen. I have to go right now. I want to talk about this tonight, and I hope that you will be ready to speak too."

He pulled into the parking lot fairly early and walked into the preschool auditorium. He took a seat in the front row and pulled out his phone thankful that Mike and Jen had taught him how to use the video and picture part when Tony was born. He watched as his children shined on stage for the next half hour and then waited patiently for them to run down to him.

Both kids were more reserved than usual Gibbs leaned down to be on eye level with his two kids. "You guys did amazing! Tony, that solo part on the twelve days of Christmas was awesome, and Katy, we have to think about getting you a drum set with the way you played up there."

Kate's eyes lit up for a second and then dimmed. "Drums are too loud, Daddy."

Gibbs frowned at his kids' aloofness. "Where do you two want to go to dinner? Anywhere you want!"

Tony looked over at his little sister shrugged. "Katie said Mommy and Timmy are home. I think we should just go home."

"Mommy and Tim are fine guys. I promise. Chuck E. Cheese? McDonalds?" Jethro tried.

"Please Daddy, I want to see Mommy." Katie started to cry again.

Tony took a protective step in front of his little sister, "Let's just go home Daddy."

Gibbs didn't get it, what had happened to his two happy, extroverted children. "Do you want to stay here and get cupcakes and talk to your friends?"

"I wanna go home Daddy!" Katie started sobbing. "I wanna see Mommy!"

In a snap decision Gibbs looked at the two youngsters, "Mommy and Timmy are going to meet us there."

Kate's tears calmed down a little and she looked into his eyes searching for truth, "Really?"

"Yes! I just need to know where to tell them to meet us." Gibbs promised.

Kate turned to look at Tony. The five-year-old still looked guarded though. "I think that we should go home and eat pizza, maybe watch a movie."

"Quietly." Kate added. "Let's go home Daddy. I'm tired too."

Gibbs looked down at his phone as he got a text. *Send me pictures. I have Tim and I ready to go meet you wherever you are going. Love you*

Gibbs looked at his two kids, "That's Mommy, are you sure you don't wanna go to Chuck E. Cheese?"

"Maybe this weekend we can go with Grandpa and give you and Mommy quiet time." Tony suggested.

Gibbs sighed, "Alright, we will figure the weekend out tomorrow. Lets go tell Mommy how tonight went."

"With pizza, right Daddy?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna text Mommy and ask her to order it now, do you want cheese bread or bread sticks?"

"Both!" Both kids exclaimed.

"Daddy, can I get a cupcake for dessert?" Kate asked.

"Yes. Tony you grab one too, while I call Mommy."

"Can I grab one for Timmy too?" Kate asked.

"Yes, remember he doesn't…"

"Like chocolate," Both kids finished before wandering off to the treats table.

"Hey Jen." He said when she answerd.

"Are they bickering over where to eat? Tell them that we can do one tonight, and one tomorrow night, Friday night is our normal go out night anyway." Jen said, bouncing Tim in her arms.

"They don't want to go out, they want to order pizza and quietly watch a movie." Jethro said.

"Our kids, Caitlin and Anthony Gibbs don't want to go out for dinner and want to do something quietly?" Jen asked incredulously.

"I think we have a problem on our hands Jen." Gibbs said softly watching his kids carefully try and pick a cupcake for Tim.

"What do you mean?" Jen asked concern creeping into her tone as she put her youngest son down.

"Order the pizza and when we get home put on your Agent hat when looking at the kids." Jethro told her.

"Okay, I'll make sure to get all the favorites." Jen said.

Jethro could hear the tears in her shaky voice, "Jen, it's okay. We will figure this out."

"I know honey, just bring my babies home to me." She said.

Jethro hung up and walked over to his oldest two. "What's the hold up?"

"We can't decide which one for Timmy." Kate said honestly.

Tony pointed to the most plain looking cupcake. "That one doesn't have colored frosting, but it has strawberry filling so that's just as messy. I don't want Mommy to get upset at us because Timmy makes a mess."

"I'll worry about Mommy, which one do you think Tim will love most?" Both Kate and Tony reached for a cupcake that had a space frosting. "Good choice! Let me carry the cupcakes to the car."

Kate handed hers over, "Thanks Daddy, we got one for you and Mommy too."

"Thanks Katie-Bug that was very kind of you and T-Man." Jethro said walking out to his SUV. He put the plate of cupcakes in the front seat and then turned to help Kate into her car seat. He walked around and made sure that Tony was buckled in properly before getting in himself. The whole ride home he tried to get the two kids engaged in conversation, but they both just stared out of their windows.

Jethro helped them out of the car, grabbed the cupcakes and walked to the front door, where Jen was waiting. "Hey guys, how was it? I'm sorry I didn't make it, I was so tired."

"Are you okay Mommy?" Tony asked.

Both Jen and Jethro noted that neither child hugged their mother. "Do you want me to take Timmy so you can sleep?" Kate offered.

"No, Tim and I took a nap and I feel much better now." Jen told them. "The pizza is here, do you want to pick a movie for us to watch?"

"It will be past bedtime when it ends." Tony said nervously.

"You need your sleep." Kate added.

"It's okay to be crazy and stay up past bedtime sometimes." Jethro offered.

"I'm tired too." Kate added.

"Yeah, lets eat and get ready for bed." Tony added.

"Okay, so maybe just a TV show," Jethro tried, "For Tim?"

"For Tim." Both kids nodded.

Jen looked over the kids heads to Jethro and shrugged. She handed her two older children paper plates and set the boxes up buffet style.

"Where's the salad Mommy?" Tony asked.

"I thought maybe we could do without Salad tonight." Jen said.

The little boy nodded his sandy brown head. He put a piece of cheese pizza and a breadstick on his plate. "Do you want more than that, T-Man?" Jethro asked, as he put similar food on a plate for Tim.

"No Sir. I don't wanna be greedy."

Jen's mind snapped to a conversation a couple weeks ago where she had called Tony greedy for putting too much food on his plate. "Tony, if you are hungry, grab more food lovely." His mother encouraged.

"I'm not very hungry Mommy." Tony assured her. Jen tried to think back to how much her son had been eating lately.

Kate had grabbed two pieces of sausage pizza and was pulling cheese bread out of the box when her plate toppled on the floor. Her eyes instantly shot to her mother and filled with tears. "I'm sorry Mommy! I will clean it up right now!"

Jethro kneeled on the floor, "It's okay Kate-bug, I can clean it up. What is going on?"

Kate burst into tears, "Don't spank me, I'll clean it Daddy."

Jen was by his side in a second, she reached out for her daughter, but Kate pulled away. Jethro was starting to panic with how hard Kate was sobbing. "I'm sorry Daddy!"

"Hey, why all the tears?" He asked scooping up his little girl. Kate got more and more upset and Gibbs carried her up to her room and rocked her in the rocking chair until she fell asleep. Jen sat helpless on their daughters' bed. Jethro put the little girl to bed, still in her concert dress. He went down the stairs and didn't see either boy, and only one plate of eaten food, Tim's he was sure. When he walked back upstairs, he saw Jen leaning in Tony's doorway. Walking up behind her, he saw both boys fast asleep in Tony's bed. Tony's arms were very protectively wrapped around his brother.

"What the hell has happened Jethro?" Jen asked.

"I don't know, but we will figure it out. I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

Tony woke up and stared out his window. He noticed that the sun was up, that could only mean one thing! That they were late. He looked over at Tim who was sleeping pressed up against the wall and crawled out of bed, carful not to wake him up. He ran across the hall and shook Kate.

"Katy-Bug wake up!" Tony snapped, still trying to keep his voice down and not make his parents angry.

Kate pushed him away. "Go 'way Tony!" She rolled over.

"We're late! Mommy is going to be mad and so is Daddy, wake up!" Katie's eyes snapped open and she jumped out of bed. "Get dressed! Maybe if we get downstairs and make breakfast, they won't be too mad."

"Why didn't Daddy wake us up?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, just hurry and I will get Timmy and I ready. Wait for me in here." Tony said, he paused at the door. "Promise Katy-Bug."

"I promise T-Man, I will wait in here." Kate told him as she went to her dresser to grab out some clean clothes.

Tony gently scooped up Tim and spoke softly too him as he laid him down on the carpeted floor. Tim's eyes were wide open now and he was babbling nonsense to his older brother. Tony grabbed a diaper from his brother's changing table and quickly changed his diaper before putting him in a onesie, jeans and a warm sweater. Tony ran his brush through his brother's hair, and set him up on his bed, in hopes of containing any chaos. He grabbed his own jeans, long sleeve shirt and sweater before putting Tim on the floor to make his own bed. He picked up Tim and walked across the hall before knocking on Katie's door.

"Come in," She called softly. He walked in and saw her sitting on her freshly made bed in a skirt with leggings and a sweater on.

"Good job Katy-Bug. Let's go downstairs, I can hear Mommy making breakfast. When we get downstairs, wait in the dining room until I call you in with Tim." Tony told her.

"Okay, Tony," Kate whispered. Tony handed his little brother to his younger sister and walked down the stairs slowly in front of both of them, unsure what he would find in the kitchen.

"Hey T-Man, you're up!" Gibbs said excitedly when he saw his son. He instantly scooped the little boy up in his arms.

"We're late for school Daddy." Tony said, enjoying snuggling into his Dad. With work and Tim and his mom's pregnancy he hadn't spent much time with either parent lately.

"We aren't going today buddy, Mommy and I took the day off work. Good job getting ready though, is Timmy awake? Should I go grab him?"

"You didn't leave him alone on the bed, did you?" Jenn asked turning around suddenly from the stove.

Tony pulled closer to his dad. "N…no…ma'am." Tony mumbled into his father's neck. "Kate…"

Kate walked into the kitchen carrying Tim, who instantly wriggled out of her arms and ran into Jenn's. She picked the little boy up and snuggled him. "How is Mommy's little boy…"

Tim cooed happily to his mother as Kate stood in the doorway hugging herself. Tony wriggled from his fathers' arms to go stand next to his little sister and pull her in for a hug. Gibbs glared at his wife and then walked over and picked up his two older kids before sitting down in a chair and sitting both kids on his lap.

Jen sat Tim down in his highchair and walked over to kiss both of her older children on their faces. "Who wants pancakes?"

Kate looked over to Tony to see what her older brother would do. He slid off of his dad's lap and went and sat in a chair, "Cereal is fine Mommy, pancakes are a lot of work."

"Well, like Daddy said we don't have to go to work or school today, so I had time." Jen said, brushing Tony's bangs from his eyes.

Kate slid off of her Dad's knee too and went and sat next to her brother. "I have a spelling test today." Tony stated.

"I'll write you a note." Gibbs told his son.

"Yes Sir." Tony said as pancakes were put in front of him. Tim babbled through breakfast but the rest of the family was silent. Jen and Gibbs both tried to talk to the older two kids but were unsuccessful.

Jen stood up and picked up Tim when he was done eating, she carried him off.

Tony looked instantly uneasy, "Where is Mommy going with Timmy?"

"She's going to put him in the playroom while we talk." Gibbs told his son.

"Can we talk in there?" Tony asked.

"No," Jen said coming back into the room. "We need to talk undistracted."

"Did we do something wrong?" Katy asked, moving from her chair to her brothers. Tony scooted over and allowed his little sister access.

"No, we did." Gibbs said honestly to his children. He reached over and grabbed his wife's hand.

"What do you mean Daddy? Everything is fine." Tony said nervously.

"No, when's the last time that we played a game together as a family? Or we went to the park to ride bikes?"

"It's not safe for Mommy to ride a bike." Kate repeated what her father had told her when she had asked last time.

"That's true, but I should have still been taking you two to the park." Gibbs told his kids.

"And I could have come and after the bike ride we could have all played at the park together. Baby Abby is making Mommy very tired, but that shouldn't mean that I'm not spending time with you two."

"Timmy needs more attention right now." Tony chimed in.

Jen sighed; they really had failed their older two children. "Guys, we are a team, right?"

Tony looked down at his little sister for a moment and then bit his lip. He would normally love to be on his parents' team, and his chest would puff out with pride, but this time he was unsure. If felt like he was on a team with Kate lately and his mom, dad and Timmy were on a team.

"Do you feel like we kicked you guys off of our team?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, you had Timmy…and he…re…like…took over?" Katie asked turning to her brother to help with the words.

"Replaced me." Tony whispered.

Kate nodded at the word, "And you're having Abby to replace me."

Jen instantly burst into tears and swooped up her little girl, "Oh no no no, Katy-Bug nothing in this entire world could replace you or T-Man."

"You need us to behave more so we are out of the way for Abby and Tim." Tony said.

Gibbs pulled his son into his lap and twisted him so that Tony was facing him, "Do you know how Mommy and I are on Grandpa Mike's team?"

"Yes Daddy." Tony nodded seriously.

"When Mommy joined the team, Daddy had to step up and help train Mommy instead of being the one trained. I went for a probie to a supervisory Agent. Then when Stan joined the team, Mommy had to step up and be a supervisory agent and not a probie anymore, she had to teach stan too. Do you know what that means?"

"That you and Mommy get to boss Stan, cuz he's an idiot." Tony said.

Gibbs barked out a laugh at that, "Well yes, but it also means that Mommy and I got promoted, not that we got replaced. Timmy and when Abby comes, her too will be Probies. You and Katy-Bug are our supervisory agents. You got promoted, not replaced."

Jen sat down next to Jethro, twisting Kate around to look at her too. "Daddy and I did a good job giving you all the responsibilities of your new jobs but none of the fun stuff, huh?"

"There's fun stuff to our promotion?" Tony asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah!" Jen said.

"First we are going to hire a housekeeper, this lady will be picking you guys up from school, and helping with cooking and cleaning." Jethro said.

"Second, now that you guys have been promoted, it's time to get involved back into sports." Jen added.

"I can play soccer again?" Tony asked excitedly.

Jethro cringed at the fact that they had ever pulled the kids out. "Yes Sir."

"What if I don't wanna do soccer anymore Daddy?" Kate asked.

Jen was worried that it was because she wanted to be home, "Do you want to do something else instead?"

Kate bit her lip, as if she was worried to ask for it. "Can…can I try gymnastics?"

"Yes!" Jen promised instantly. "We will look into it today."

"And ballet maybe…" Kate said.

"Hmmm…we might be able to swing that." Jethro said.

"And maybe…cheerleading?"

"I want to play football!" Tony said excitedly. "Oh and baseball!"

Jethro laughed, "Whoa, my overachieving agents, lets see what we can fit into our schedule. Mommy and I also want to spend lots of time together too. So, I know we eat out on Fridays, but Mommy and I are going to be coming home at 5 whenever we can. If we have a case though, you won't be at work with us, you will be here with the housekeeper, and she will keep our routine going."

"We will try to have a movie night, and a board game night every week too. And once a month we will try to go out with each of you all by yourself." Jen said.

"Wow being a super agent is cool, Daddy!" Tony said.

"Supervisory agent," Gibbs corrected.

"Visory Agent!" Tony said excitedly.

"Good job, son."

"Can we go play with Timmy now?" Kate asked.

"Well, I was thinking that we could go get a Christmas tree after this talk…" Jethro said.

"Yes!" Kate yelled, "Let's do that."

"I'll go get Tim!" Tony said about to scoot off his dad's lap.

Jen's hand stopped him though, "We have one more thing to talk about."

"Uh-oh." Kate said, pressing her face into Jen's sweater.

"No uh-oh, sit up Kate." Jen said softly.

"Yes ma'am." The four year old said, sitting up and looking at her Mom.

"Mommy has been acting a little crazy lately guys, and I'm sorry. The things that I've been angry about and yelling about have been not very nice. I'm very sorry and I hope that you can forgive me." Jen told her two children.

Kate hugged her Mommy and smiled, "I forgive you Mommy!" She looked over to her older brother, who was looking her mom up and down.

"You aren't going to spank Katy anymore?" Tony asked.

"T-Man…" Kate started.

"Hush Kate." Tony barked.

"I can't promise that I won't spank Katy or you anymore, because you are still going to do need to learn some things on this path. I am sorry for spanking you yesterday over the door though, Caitlin, I was wrong." Jen said, pulling her daughter in for a kiss.

"It's okay Mommy. I'm gonna go get my shoes to get a tree…" She scooted off of her mom's lap and ran to go get her and Tim's coat so they would be ready to go.

Tony hadn't spoken and was still just looking at his mom, unsure if he should believe her. "I…I know that you don't feel good…and I can take it when you are mad, but Katy is just little."

Jen opened her arms to her little boy who climbed from his fathers arms to his mothers. She squeezed him into a tight hug. "Anthony Jackson Gibbs, you will always, always be my little boy too. So, I promise that I will be nicer to both you and Katy-bug. I promise."

Tony nodded and ran off to go get his shoes on too.

Jethro turned to his wife. "I'm sorry I messed everything up."

"Oh no you don't," Gibbs said. "You don't get to take the blame for this, we both messed up, and we will both fix it, so lets go wrestle three excited kids into the car and get a tree team Gibbs style!"

"You're the best husband and father…" Jen said standing up.

"And you're the best mother and wife." He swatted his Jen on the butt, "and don't you forget that!"

"Yes sir!" She laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're gonna get me in twouble…" Abby said from the doorway.

7-year-old Caitlin Gibbs glared down at her 3-year-old sister, "Then be quiet and go back to our room."

"It's scary in there without you," Abby said, tilting her head to the side.

Katy sighed. Tony shrugged, "I managed to leave my room without waking Timmy, you had one job."

"Timmy stays in his bed!" Katy snapped.

"Keep your voice down." The eight-year-old chided. He then turned to his baby sister, "If you don't wanna get in trouble, then go back to bed Abs, we will be back in soon."

"What's going on?" A fourth voice sounded from Tony's doorway.

"Go to bed Tim," Tony told his brother.

Timmy rubbed his eyes, "What's going on?"

"They're gonna do something fun without us!" Abby wailed.

Katy slammed her hand over his sisters' mouth, a little harder than she intended. Abby's eyes welled with tears and she started sobbing. Katy didn't remove her hand and quickly walked down the stairs with her hand still covering her sisters' mouth. When they got to the kitchen Katy looked down at her baby sister, "If I let go you have to be quiet Abs."

When Abby nodded Kate lifted her hand. "That hurted." She whispered.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to wake Daddy."

Tony was already opening the fridge and grabbing out two cans of soda, he went to the pantry and grabbed a bag of chips too before turning to his siblings, "Alright, jackets on."

Katy had run to the hall and grabbed the four jackets and the big blanket off of the couch before heading back into the kitchen.

"I don't like outside…" Timmy whined.

"Then go back to bed," Tony told him simply.

Not wanting to miss out though, the four-year-old threw on his jacket. Kate helped both of her younger siblings zip their coats while Tony went out back to set up the blanket on the grass. She held both of their hands, remembering how she was afraid of the dark the first time Tony had brought her out and walked with them to the safety of their older brother.

"What are we doin?" Abby asked, once she was wrapped in a blanket, holding the soda that her and Timmy were sharing.

Tony leaned back in the grass and looked up at the sky, "Look at all those stars Abs, isn't it amazing?"

Abby leaned back and cuddled into her older brother, who wrapped a protective arm around her. Kate wrapped her arms around Tim and they all just laid staring at the sky. It can't have been more than ten minutes later when Katy was broken from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps on the wet grass. The kids' vision to the sky was soon blocked by a very confused father.

He crouched down as he kids stood up, "What's going on here?"

Tony looked behind his father to his mother standing in the back doorway. "We were just looking at the stars. It's really pretty tonight."

He watched his mom disappear and wondered if she went back to bed and left them to deal with their dad alone. Abby was shaking next to him, clearly afraid at being caught out of bed. Timmy looked ready to cry, but Katy had her arms protectively wrapped around him and was eyeing their father cautiously. "You do this a lot?" Gibbs asked his son, the leader of the kids Gibbs team.

"I come out here maybe once every few months when I can't sleep." Tony said. Kate went to chime in, but Tony glared at her.

"You too, Katy-bug?" Gibbs asked turning to his fierce daughter.

"Yes Sir." Katy said, watching as her mom approached with more blankets and her dad's jacket.

"It is a lovely night to look at the stars." Jen said as she laid out the bigger blanket and sat down. Timmy instantly ran to his mother's arms and she accepted him with a big hug. "How's my baby boy?"

"It was a little scary," Timmy admitted.

Gibbs sat down next to his wife and pulled Abby down into his lap and Tony down by his side. He patted the spot in between him and Jen for Kate to join and she gladly did before her wrapped a blanket around all of them. "If you guys don't mind the cold, maybe we can go camping this weekend, and get a little bit of a closer look at those stars."

After about 30 minutes Abby and Timmy had fallen asleep, "Mommy and I are going to take these two up to bed, why don't you and Katy but the blankets away and meet us in the kitchen?"

Tony sighed; he knew it was too good to be true that his parents wouldn't be upset about this. "Yes sir."

Gibbs paused and waited for a response from his next in command. "Yes Sir." Caitlin said, starting to fold the blankets.

By the time all the blankets were folded and put away the Gibbs parents were already in the kitchen waiting for their two kids. Katy was starting to get tired, so she walked in and sat on her Dad's lap and rested her head on his chest, "Are we in trouble?"

"A little." Gibbs conceded, kissing her head.

Tony felt like he was too old but couldn't help going and sitting in his mom's lap. She squeezed her oldest son close, and hoped, like she did every time the boy sat in her lap, that it wouldn't be the last time. She kissed his temple and shifted their bodies so that they were staring at her husband.

"I'm guessing this is the first time that the little kids went out with you?"

"Yes sir." Tony said.

"We didn't want them to go out Daddy, but Abby was in my bed again, she is ALWAYS in my bed!" Katy said, somewhat irritated.

Jen frowned at that, "Still?"

"Every night." Kate confirmed. Tony nudged his sister with his foot for violating their no snitching on siblings' rule. "You can be mad when Timmy is in your bed all the time."

"I spoke to her about that already. I will talk to her tomorrow, you can come get me or Daddy if she does it again, that side of the room is your space Katy, it's okay to tell her no…" Jen told her oldest daughter seriously. "In fact, maybe…" She paused before saying her idea out loud knowing that she would need to discuss it with her husband first.

Gibbs smiled at his wife, "Maybe we can get rid of the guest room, and you and I can share the downstairs office and the kids can each have their own space…"

"Yes," Jen said laughing, "Maybe it's time for everyone to have their own space."

"I can have my own room?" Tony asked excitedly.

"Yes, and I will let you and Katy pick first, although you two do already have the biggest rooms." Jethro told them.

"That's so cool, no more baby toys, or having to sleep downstairs when my friends come over, can I have a TV in my room?" Tony asked excitedly.

"No." Both parents said at the same time.

Jethro squeezed his little girl and tapped her chin so she would look up at him, "What's wrong Katy-Bug, I thought you would be more excited than T-Man."

"I don't want a spanking Daddy," Katy whispered. At that reminder, all of Tony's excitement left him.

"But the fact that you know you're getting one, means you know you deserve it right?" Jethro asked her. "Can you think of what rules you and Tony broke?"

"It wasn't safe to be out of bed and for you and Mommy to not know where we are." Tony said quickly.

"That's right," Jen said, "What if there had been a fire and we couldn't find you guys?"

"That would be pretty scary…" Kate admitted. "And, I guess Tony and I sneaking around is a little like lying."

Tony's eyes got huge; Kate always seemed to understand the trouble they got in on a more complex level than him. All he had thought about was the safety and the junk food. Seeming to read his mind, his mom added, "That's right Katy, and do Daddy and I let you have sodas without asking?"

"No ma'am." The seven-year-old said, sighing, knowing that they were in trouble.

"you guys do this a lot?" Gibbs asked a second time.

"Not a lot a lot, only when one of us can't sleep." Tony said.

"Why couldn't you sleep tonight, son?" Gibbs asked.

The eight-year-old shrugged, and Katy kept her mouth shut. She may have rolled on Abby, but she would never do that to her older brother and best friend. "You can tell us anything T-Man." Jen encouraged.

"There's nothing to tell Mom." Tony promised. "Sometimes I just can't sleep."

Jethro made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the boy to try to find out what the issue was. "Alright next time one of you can't sleep, come get me or Mommy and if you want to look at the stars, we will go out with you, or we can find something else to do, promise?"

"Promise." Both kids said.

Gibbs looked to his wife before nudging his daughter off of his lap and between his knees facing him, "Do you understand what went wrong in this, and what I need you to change next time Caitlin?"

Caitlin already had tears in her eyes, but everyone knew she wouldn't let them fall until she had no control. "Yes Sir."

Gibbs shifted her to the side and landed one hard swat that covered the little girls entire bottom. He pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Katy-Bug, go with Mommy to get tucked in. I love you very much."

"I love you too, Daddy." The little girl said before running to be picked up and carried up the stairs by her mom. She knew when not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"That's it?" Tony asked, as he walked over to stand where Kate had just stood.

"That's it." Gibbs confirmed, turning his son and giving him one hard swat to his backside too. He pulled his son in close and stood up with him in his arms. "I love you T-Man."

"Dad! I'm too old to be carried!" The boy protested.

"Nonsense," Gibbs said as he flicked off the kitchen light before heading up the stairs, "you will always be my little boy." He tucked his oldest son into bed and kissed his forehead before pulling back, "You know that when you are ready to talk, I'm ready to listen, right son?"

Tony fidgeted for a minute with his blanket, "Is there anyway just you and I can talk soon Daddy?"

Jethro knew he was both tired and anxious because it was the only time he still slipped and said Daddy or Mommy and both parents treasured those moments, "Yes Sir, I will make sure to pick you up from school tomorrow, just you and I can go for a hike. Does that sound good?"

"Yes sir, thank you!" Tony said, and Jethro watched as his son physically lightened.

"Anytime, you, your brother and your sisters are my number one priority, don't ever get that mixed up. I love you."

"I love you too dad, goodnight."

Jethro kissed his son one more time before crawling into bed next to his wife and pulling her close.


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs pulled up slowly in front of his sons' school and waited for the eight-year-old. Tony ran out excitedly and threw his backpack into the bed of his dad's truck. "Are you sure we shouldn't pick up Katy?"

Gibbs was always proud of the bond that his oldest two children had and hoped that Abby and Timmy would feel the same way about it. "Your mom is going to pick up Katy and they are going to go get paint. I think that's her car right there." Gibbs told his son, pointing to his wife's car that his seven-year-old had just jumped into.

Tony smiled, clearly relaxing, "you always think of everything."

"Yeah, so do you want to go hike or go get a burger first?" Gibbs asked, laughing.

"Can we go for a hike, and then pick up Timmy for guys burgers?" Tony asked.

"Yes Sir, that sounds perfect!" Gibbs promised. He shot a quick text to his wife about the boy's night while he waited for his boy to buckle up.

They chatted amicably about work and school on the way to the hiking spot and all the way up the mountain. He tried his wife's tactics of letting the boy talk, but it was getting old fast. When they got to the top of the mountain Gibbs put his hand on his sons' shoulder. "Alright Tony, time to talk."

"You're gonna be mad Dad." Tony told him, kicking around at the dirt.

Gibbs sighed as he sat down on the old stump. "Best to just pull the band aid off then son."

Tony walked over to his dad and leaned into his side. "Sometimes I miss just going on hikes, the four of us."

Gibbs sighed and wondered for the millionth time if his oldest two children would ever except the youngest two. "What's going on Tony?"

"I…I did something really dumb, well, actually not something…" Tony paused. "Lots of somethings."

Gibbs lifted his little boy up onto his knee, "Alright, well lets start with the first something."

"You know a couple weeks ago, when the guys and I asked to stay at the park after basketball practice?" Tony asked.

"The night Jay Ellis' dad drove you home?" Gibbs asked, thinking back.

"Yes Sir." Tony said, leaning even further into his dad.

"Are you about to give me bad news?" Gibbs asked the boy.

"Yes Sir." Tony said honestly.

"Then stand up and look me in the eye, like the man you are." Gibbs reprimanded, pulling his son away from him.

Tony looked up at his dad and tried hard to bite the bullet. "Well, we didn't stay at the park, we went down to the store to get some snacks because we were hungry."

"Did you ask to leave the park?" Gibbs asked gruffly, his mind racing with all of the things that could have happened to his boy.

"No Sir." Tony told him honestly.

"Ah, well there is problem number one. And wasn't Katy with you that day?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes Sir, but I haven't got to the bad part yet." Tony told him.

Gibbs looked up to the heavens for a moment bracing himself. "Alright, let me have it then."

"Well I didn't have my allowance on me when we got to the store, and all of the guys didn't have their allowance…"

"Then why did you even go to the store?" Gibbs asked.

"We were hungry, mostly." Tony told him.

"Mostly?" Gibbs asked.

"Well Katy said that she was hungry but when she learned that we would have to…" Tony paused.

"Steal?" Gibbs asked the boy.

"Yes, steal, then she didn't want anything." Tony told him honestly.

"So your sister had some good sense and didn't steal anything?" Gibbs clarified.

"Yes sir." Tony said.

"And how was that not your tip off that this was a bad idea?"

Tony covered his face with his hands, "I was just so hungry and everyone else was doing it."

"So what did you steal?" He asked, pulling his son's hands away from his face.

"A candy bar and some chips, and a sprite." Tony said.

Gibbs whistled low, "Is that the only time you've done that?"

"Well I thought that it would be the only time, because I felt so bad, but then we started to do it every Tuesday." Tony said, honestly.

"So safe to say that you aren't going to the park alone anymore." Gibbs told the boy.

"Dad, I've felt really bad about it everytime!" Tony defended.

"Not bad enough that you stopped doing it." Gibbs said harshly.

"All of my friends would have made fun of me!" Tony whined.

"That's not a good reason and you know it. It sounds like you need better friends." Gibbs scolded.

"Dad!" Tony whined.

"No, and we are going to sit down tonight and make a list of everything you stole, and take it down to the shop keeper to see how you can work off that debt." Gibbs told him.

"Yes Sir." Tony told him.

"Sports. Church. School and Home will be the only places that you can attend for the next two weeks, am I understood?"

"Yes sir." Tony said again, expecting that to be his response.

"And no video games, TV, or computer time either."

"What am I supposed to do at home if I can't play on the computer or watch TV!" Tony whined.

"Anthony, I can make it three weeks, and don't worry, you will have plenty of extra chores." Gibbs told him.

"So no dinner?" Tony asked.

Gibbs looked at his little boy and pulled him close. "We can still go to dinner."

"YES!" Tony said excitedly.

"After your spanking." Gibbs told the boy. "Jeans and boxers down, you know the drill."

"Dad, we're outside!" Tony whined.

"Jeans and boxers down Tony." Gibbs told him stiffly.

Tony pulled his pants down and quickly dived over his dad's lap. Gibbs looked down at his son's bare backside and sighed, he knew that he was going to have to up the ante. He slowly pulled his belt from the loops and rested one hand on his son's back to keep the boy from shaking off of his lap.

"Dad?" Tony asked.

"Theft is never okay son, five swats and we are done here." Gibbs assured him.

Five very quick swats later, Gibbs hoisted up his sobbing son. He knew that he didn't spank him too hard, but it wasn't any easier to hear his boy cry. "I'm sorry Daddy."

"I know." He said, kissing the side of the boys head, "Let's put your jeans back on and then go get Timmy for some burgers."

"Yes Sir." Tony said. He pulled his boxers and jeans up but whimpered when he took a step. Gibbs picked his little boy up and hiked back to the car. He cringed as his son whimpered as he buckled, but knew there was no way around it.

"Dad?" Tony asked.

"Yeah?" Gibbs asked, sparing his son a glance.

"Is Katy going to be in trouble for not telling on me?"

Gibbs sighed, "Yes, she didn't do a very good job taking care of her team."

"It's not her fault, Dad, it's mine." Tony assured.

"No, we take care of each other in this family." Gibbs told him.

"Do you think that the girls have eaten yet?"

Gibbs looked at the clock on the dash, "No, I'm sure they are waiting for Timmy to get picked up."

"Do you think Mom told Timmy?"

"No, just in case, I'm sure." Gibbs said, trying to figure out what the boy wanted.

"Can we take Katy instead then?" Tony asked.

Gibbs grinned, again impressed with his son's love of his sister. "Yeah, I'm sure that can be arranged."

They pulled up to the house a couple minutes later and Gibbs got out of the truck with his son. "Don't forget your backpack."

Tony grabbed it and the two walked into the house together.

"DADDY!" Abby called instantly, launching herself into her fathers arms. Gibbs swung the three year old into the air and loved the way that she laughed. Tony walked into his mothers hug, as Tim walked up to hug his dad. Gibbs sat Tim down and looked over to see Caitlin leaning against the stairs.

"I think you and I need to have a conversation ma'am." Gibbs said firmly.

"My room or your office?" Katy asked. It was usually a good indicator for the kids how severe the spanking would be based on the room.

"I think that your bedroom is okay, lead the way."

"Yes Sir." She said walking up the stairs to her room.

Gibbs sat down on the bed and pulled his girl in close, "What color did you and Mommy pick for the room?"

"Green and blue! Vintage baby!" Caitlin cried excitedly.

"Sounds great baby. So what are we talking about here kid?"

"I knew T-Man was stealing and didn't tell you, but snitches get stiches, Daddy!"

"It's true that we don't want to tattle Katy-Bug, but when your team mate is in so over their heads that you can't help them, then you need to get your commanding officer, and I know that you know that."

"Yes Sir." Katy said softly.

Gibbs pulled his daughter onto his lap and flipped her skirt up. He left her panties because she had been honest with him and she was just trying to make sure her brother didn't get into trouble. After 20 firm swats he stopped the spanking and picked up his little girl who had tears brimming in her eyes. "Were you over your head?"

"Yes sir." Kate said.

"Then next time?"

"Next time, I will get you." Katy promised.

"Good girl." He praised. "Wanna grab dinner with me and T-Man?"

"Just the three of us?" Katy asked.

"Yes Ma'am, just the three of us."

"Yay!" Kate yelled, jumping from her dad's lap and running down the stairs.

"Whoa!" Tony cautioned from the bottom of the steps, "we don't want to get in any more trouble."

"That's true!" Katy said. "Ready for dinner?"

"Yeah," Tony said pulling down his sister's jacket, "Are you okay to sit in the truck?"

"Yeah," Kate said hugging her brother before putting her jacket on. Gibbs came down the stairs smiling.

"Change of plans, that okay?" He asked his wife.

"Yes," Jenn said finally kissing her husband, "You three have fun. I want to hear what all the commotion was about tonight though."

"Of course." Gibbs said.


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs had never hated Jenn in his whole life. He didn't even think that he was capable of hating the woman who had given him the best five things in his life. First their marriage and then each of the four kids who were currently making him want to pull his own hair out. Today, today he thought that he hated her.

Six weeks ago, they had had a terrible case. The worst of the worst. When Jenn had not come into work, he understood. When she had transferred to the FBI without speaking to him, he understood. When she had booked a hotel, he had been understanding. Six weeks later, leaving him with four kids that were clearly suffering the loss of their mother, he still was understanding. Now standing in the room, ready to square off with his children on Jenn's account, he did not feel very understanding.

Kate crossed her arms from her spot at the table, glowering at him. "I'm not going."

"Caitlyn, it isn't up to you to decide. It's up to your Mother…"

"I haven't had a mother for 6 weeks." Kate cut in.

Tony frowned at his sister, "Come on Katie, lets just do it!"

"I'm fine with whatever can I just go back to my room?" Tim cut in.

"No, you cannot go to your room," Gibbs told the ten-year old. "And she is still your mom, Kate."

"Are you going Daddy?" Abby asked.

"No, your mom just wants time with you guys." Gibbs told his baby girl.

"I'm not going." Kate said again. She stood from her chair but didn't move very far from it, knowing where her boundary was.

"I don't want to go either Daddy, not if you won't be there." Abby said, standing and squaring off next to her sister.

Tony put his hands up to his father placatingly. "We will go. You said this weekend? Like tomorrow?"

"Yes tomorrow, Mom will pick you guys up from school. Each of you will meet her in the car line, am I understood?" Gibbs growled.

"Yes Sir, Can I go to my room now?" Tim asked.

Gibbs sighed. Each of his kids had responded vastly different to Jenn leaving. Tim had locked himself in his room almost 24/7. "Yes, you may go to your room. Pack a bag before you get on those video games…"

"Yes sir." Tim said standing up.

"And Timothy, you have given me lip every night this week about turning that damn box off to come to dinner, if it happens tonight then I will take that thing away and you will be riding to the lake house on a sore backside, am I understood?" Gibbs asked. He hadn't spanked his kids since Jenn left, he really hadn't even scolded them.

"Yes Sir." Tim said, but his back had remained turned, and he had kept walking, a sign of disrespect his kids had never shown him.

Gibbs let it go, "Abby, you go pack a bag too baby." Gibbs waited for what he knew was to come. Three. Two. One.

"I don't want to…" The little girl whined, "Can't you come up with me?"

Where Tim had been MIA for six weeks, Abby had been unwilling to leave his side. "No, I want to speak to your brother and sister, you scoot. Three days and on the water, remember."

"Dadddddyyyy…" Abby whined.

"Now Abigail." Gibbs said firmly.

Tears came to Abby's eyes, but she ran upstairs to do as she was told. He would fix that later. He fixed his eyes on his oldest two, who hadn't dared to move. Kate had been doing everything in her power to get everyone else in the house to leave, while Tony had been desperately trying to get everyone to stay. The worst thing that had come from this was siblings that had normally been super close were now arguing nonstop. Sure, they had always bickered, all four of them in fact, but he had always told himself it was a curse of having four smart kids, but now Kate and Tony were at each other's throats any time they had to be in the same room.

"I'm not going." Kate said again, firmly.

"Can you stop being so selfish for maybe a minute, even if you don't need this Abby and Timmy do." Tony snapped.

"Selfish?" Kate screeched. "I'm selfish? Did I abandon my husband and kids?"

"Maybe she's going to tell us why," Tony told her, standing from his chair now to tower over his sister.

"I don't care why." Kate told him.

Gibbs knew that wasn't true. Kate was the most like him in his thinking. She was the one who wanted the answers most he knew. "Enough. Everyone is going."

"You aren't."

"You're right, this needs to be just time you spend with your mother."

"I'll go if you do." Kate told him after a moment of thought.

"This isn't a negotiation little girl," He growled.

Kate just met his glare head on, unfazed. "Those are my terms."

Tony stood by awkwardly, wondering what was about to happen.

"Caitlyn, you will go because I've said you will." Gibbs told her, "Do you need a reminder of who the boss is in this house?"

She faltered, knowing she was walking on thin ice. "I'm serious, if you go then I will, and you won't hear another word from me."

"Or I can put you over my knee and spank you until you remember that you do as I say, and then you will go anyway." Gibbs told her.

Kate shrugged, "If that's what you feel like you need to do, but you know I won't break on this one."

"Can I make dinner or something?" Tony asked.

"No, go pack your bag for this weekend." Gibbs instructed. Tony took off without having to be told twice. Three down one to go, he thought.

"What's it going to be dad?" Kate asked boldly.

Gibbs walked over to a kitchen chair, pulled it out and sat down. "Come here." He really hadn't wanted to get to this point, and if he was honest he thought it was going to be Tim who pushed him over the edge with his damn Xbox, but the thirteen year old was really pushing it.

Kate didn't move though. "I haven't done anything for you to spank me for yet!"

"You are telling me no, disobedience is a spankable offence, now come here."

"But I haven't even been offered the chance to disobey yet." Kate told him.

"You're disobeying right now by not coming over," Gibbs told her.

"Why should I if you're going to be unfair." Kate told him, at this point she was getting a spanking, the only way she could go was up she thought.

"Caitlyn…" He started.

"No, seriously, you aren't even going to see if I sleep on it and change my mind?" Kate asked.

Gibbs leveled her with a stare, after a moments thought, he spoke. "No, but I will compromise with you. Your bag needs to be in the back of my car by 9 PM, that's in five hours. If you have a lake bag packed by then we will move on. If it's not packed and in my car by then, you will be getting a spanking."

"That's not much time to think."

"We both know we barely make it out the door as is right now and I don't have time to stop and spank you in the morning." He said honestly.

Kate considered this and nodded. "By 9?"

"Yes, by 9."

"Okay," Kate agreed.

"Now come here," Gibbs told her.

"But you said…." Kate started.

"Now Kate." He thundered. She slowly approached her dad. He pulled her over his knee and landed ten hard swats, "I don't want to hear you tell me no anymore."

"Yes Sir." She ground out through gritted teeth.

He stood her back up on her feet, and kissed the top of her head as he stood. "I'm going to go see how the other's are coming with their packing, we good?"

"Yes Daddy," She said, knowing that she had gotten off easy.

"Chin up kid, things can only get easier from here, okay?"

Kate hugged him quickly, the first physical affection that she had offered in six weeks and he relished in the brief moment. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too Katy-bug. After I check on everyone, why don't you and I go get Chinese, just the two of us." He offered, hoping to get his daughters softening spirit to linger.

"You know Abby would not be okay with that." Kate told him.

"Yeah, seems like your smarting bottom should be a reminder of who the boss in this house is." Gibbs told her.

"It's okay, take Abby, I need time to think." Kate told him.

He frowned but nodded, "Okay." After checking to see that all of the kids had bags packed, he asked to see if any of them wanted to go grab food with him. Predictably Tony and Abby wanted to go, and Kate and Tim wanted to stay.

Dinner went well and he had made sure the kids bags were all in the back of his SUV before going upstairs to start Abby's bedtime routine. As he was putting down the book they were reading together, he heard the alarm that signaled the opening of the front door. He looked over at Abby's alarm and rolled his eyes that it was 8:58, of course she had waited until the last minute. He kissed Abby and tucked her in before knocking on Tim's door across the hall, "Shower in fifteen son."

"Yes Sir!" Tim called through the shut door.

He walked to Tony's room next, the boy's door was open. "Whatchya up to?"

"Just thinking." Tony told him.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not really Dad, thanks though." Tony told him.

"Alright, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Dad."

"It's nine now, so you've got two hours until lights out." He reminded.

"Thanks, I may shower after Tim and just go to bed, I'm kind of tired." Tony told him.

"Alright son, I love you."

"Love you too Dad."

Gibbs had never heard the alarm signaling Kate's reentrance into the house so he went out to the driveway to see her leaning against his car. "Did the bag make it in?"

"Yes Sir." Kate told him.

"Good, thank you."

"She can't punish me," Kate said suddenly, turning to look at him.

"Kate we always tell you kids if you don't want a consequence then don't do anything that deserves one." Gibbs told her.

"She left, I don't care what I say or do, she can't touch me."

"She's still your mom, Kate, and you know Abby will rat you out the second you guys get home and I will light your backside on fire if I hear of you giving her a bad time."

"Might be worth it." Kate said.

"I know that you are mad at her, but that doesn't mean that you need to be rude, we raised you better than that. Use this time to find your answers, not extract revenge."

"I need to think, can I stay out here?"

"Yes, but you have lights out in an hour." He told her.

"Yes Sir." She acknowledged.

* * *

The next day Jenn fiddled nervously as she waited in the high school pick up line. She saw Tony walk out of the doors and say good bye to his friends before walking over to her car. She popped the trunk and he threw both of his bags in the back before getting in the front seat.

"Hi Honey," She said leaning over to kiss his head.

"Hi Mom," He said as he buckled.

She was relieved that things were somewhat normal as she pulled out to go swing by the middle school next. As she pulled up she saw Kate waiting out front and talking to some friends. When she spotted her mothers car, she slowly made her way over. Throwing her bags in the back before climbing into the back.

"Hey Katy-bug!" Jenn exclaimed. Kate was silent, looking out her window. "How was school?"

After another moment of silence Tony broke in. He turned to look at his sister, "Are you serious right now?"

"Tony," Jenn scolded gently. "Caitlyn, do you hear me speaking to you?" Still nothing, "Caitlyn! You need to answer when an adult is speaking to you and you know it."

"Kate!" Tony snapped.

"Do you really want me to have to spank you the second we walk through the doors at the lake house?" Jenn asked.

At that Kate's eyes tore away from the window, "You can try."

Tony was ready to kill his sister when he watched the hurt splash across his mom's face. He turned around again, "Do you want me to call Dad?"

"No need Tony, Kate has until we get to the lake house to decide how she wants this to end." Jenn told the boy, pulling into the elementary school parking lot.

"Get it together." Tony growled before turning back around.

"Kate, you had better be in a better mood when we get there, or I will be sending you to your room…"

"Thank God," Kate said, "I'd rather spend the weekend there."

Jenn whipped around, "I understand that you are angry, but you may not speak to me like that. Get your attitude in check or expect consequences."

Kate just shrugged and went back to looking out the window. Timmy and Abby both ran up and Jenn got out of the car to help them with their bags and give them both a big hug. Both kids accepted and thankfully Abby chattered all the way to the lake house.

Jenn let all of the kids grab their bags and told them to go put them in their rooms. The drive was long, so they had grabbed burgers on the way up. She grabbed the groceries out of the back and went to the kitchen to put them away. One by one the kids made their way back downstairs and into the kitchen to chat, everyone but Kate. Jenn didn't say anything though, she let the girl stew. At ten o clock, she looked at Abby and Tim, "Come on you two, up to bed." She sent them both with their PJs to the bathrooms to change before walking into the room that Abby and Kate shared. "I want you to go down in the living room and wait for me."

"Why?" Kate asked, looking up from the book she had been reading.

"Because I told you to, and we need to talk and Abby is going to bed." Jenn told her.

"And if I don't?" Kate asked.

"Then your little sister will get a show before bed, and you will still need to go downstairs for us to talk." Jenn told her.

"You don't get to put your hands on me." Kate told her.

"I do get to punish you how I see fit, Kate." Jenn told her.

"Mommy, I'm ready." Abby told her.

"What's it going to be?" She asked her oldest daughter, while sitting on the bed to tuck her youngest in.

"Fine," Kate snapped, throwing her book down on her bed and storming out. Jenn tucked in her two youngest and asked Tony to stay upstairs.

She went into the living room and saw her daughter sprawled out on the couch. "When we ask you to wait for us somewhere what does that mean?"

"What do you mean by us?" Kate shot back, "You broke us up."

Jenn sighed, "I will discuss this with you after you go where you know that you are supposed to when we ask you to wait."

"I'm not going to stand in the corner, Jenn."

That was the breaking point. Jenn reached out and roughly pulled Kate to her side and delivered ten very hard swats. "Are you ready to stand in the corner Caitlyn?" Kate didn't answer and Jenn delivered ten more. "Now? Do I need to take off my belt?"

"I'll go." Kate told her and Jenn instantly released the girl. Kate walked slowly to the corner and planted herself there with her hands on top of her head.

After ten minutes Jenn called the girl out and Kate came to stand in front of her. "Kate, I know that I hurt you, and I will do anything to make it up to you, but that won't happen with you speaking to me like this." Kate didn't respond, Jenn could only hope that she would be more receptive after a spanking. She stood up and started to pull her belt through the loops, "You know the rules Kate, lean over the arm of the couch." Kate hesitated briefly, but did as her mom said.

Jenn landed 15 medium swats before she spoke, "This attitude needs to go, Kate. Like I said you can be angry with me, but you will not disrespect me, am I understood?" When she was meet with silence, Jenn landed five hard swats to the girls jean covered backside. She saw Kate's back hitch and knew that she had started to cry. "Am I understood Caitlyn?"

"Yes Ma'am." Kate cried.

Jenn landed five more hard swats, "Is this attitude going to be gone when you stand up?"

"Yes Ma'am." Kate told her, outright sobbing now.

Jenn put her belt back on and started to rub her girls back, "It's okay Katy-bug, you're okay. You can stand when you're ready."

Kate cried for a few minutes before standing, and accepting her mothers hug. "Do you want to talk now?"

"I'm really tired Mom, can I go to bed and we can talk tomorrow?" Kate asked.

"Yes, that sounds like a great plan, fresh start tomorrow. I love you."

Kate hesitated briefly, "I love you too mom."

As Jenn went into her room, hopeful that tomorrow would be a better day, Kate went into hers, threw a flashlight into her backpack, and some snacks that she had left over in her school bag, and set the alarm in the room to 5 in the morning. If Jenn could leave when she was unhappy, so could Kate, and leave she would tomorrow morning.


End file.
